encyclopediafandomcom-20200222-history
2 Broke Girls
2 Broke Girls is an American television sitcom created for Warner Bros. Television by Michael Patrick King andWhitney Cummings. It premiered in the United States on CBS in September 2011, and is currently commissioned for a fifth season. Set in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City, the show's plot follows the lives of roommates Max Black (Kat Dennings) and Caroline Channing (Beth Behrs). Whereas Channing was raised as the daughter of a multimillionaire, Black grew up in poverty, resulting in differing perspectives on life, although together they work in a local diner while attempting to raiseFUNDS to start acupcake business. Since its debut, the series has received a mixed response from critics. The on-screen chemistry between the two lead characters has been praised, however others have condemned the show's reliance on sexualized humor and racial stereotypes. It was nominated for three 2012 Emmy Awards, winning for Art Direction. On March 12, 2015, CBS renewed the series for a fifth season.[1] Synopsis The series chronicles the lives of two waitresses in their mid-twenties: Max Black (Kat Dennings), the child of a poor working-class mother and an unknown father, and Caroline Channing (Beth Behrs), who was born rich but is now disgraced and penniless because her father, Martin Channing, got caught operating a Bernard Madoff-esque Ponzi scheme. The two work together at a Brooklyn diner, soon becoming roommates and friends while building toward their dream of one day opening a cupcake shop. Among those working with them at the restaurant are their boss, Han Lee (Matthew Moy); Oleg (Jonathan Kite), an upbeat but pervertedUkrainian cook; and Earl (Garrett Morris), a 75-year-old cashier. Also featured starting late in the first season is their neighbor and part-time boss Sophie (Jennifer Coolidge), a Polish immigrant who runs the house-cleaning company Sophie's Choice. During most of the first season Max is also a part-time nanny for the twin babies of Peach Landis (Brooke Lyons), who during the season adopts Caroline's horse Chestnut. At the end of each episode a tally shows how much they have made toward their goal of $250,000. Early in the second season, Sophie lends the girls $20,000, which is enough for them to start their business. However, the business fails, and in the 18th episode they are forced to give up the lease of their cupcake shop with just enoughMONEY to pay off Sophie's loan, resetting the end of episode tally to $1. During the third season, the girls reopen the business in the back room of the diner, using theWINDOW as a walk up window. Max also enrolls in, and Caroline goes to work for, the Manhattan School of Pastry. Cast Main *Kat Dennings as Max Black, one of the waitresses at the Williamsburg Diner. She is a poor working class girl who had a rough childhood in Hope, Rhode Island and an equally rough adult life, driven by both genuine poverty and being raised by a mother who was usually absent and dangerously incompetent when she was around. (It is implied that her mother was a drug addict.) Han initially allowed her to sell homemade cupcakes in the diner, which led to her going forward with Caroline's idea to go into the cupcake business. Max tends to deliver insults with a smile and often refers to herself as promiscuous. *Beth Behrs as Caroline Wesbox Channing, a new waitress at the Williamsburg Diner. She is a formerly rich high society girl (in the style of Paris Hilton[2]) and Wharton graduate who lost all of her money when her father was arrested and thrown in jail for a Ponzi scheme. She is forced to start over and becomes Max's co-worker, roommate and eventual best friend. She comes up with the idea of starting a cupcake business with Max. *Garrett Morris as Earl, the cashier who has worked at the Williamsburg Diner since 1962,[3] and an elderly former jazz musician with a love of marijuana andGAMBLING. Max is very close to him, and frequently says that she wishes he was her father. *Jonathan Kite as Vanko Oleg Golishevsky, a Ukrainian cook at the Williamsburg Diner. He sexually harasses Max and Caroline constantly with inappropriate jokes, innuendo and propositions for sex, but his behavior is benign and easily ignored (or mocked, by Max). He later develops an attraction to Sophie, and has a sex-only relationship with her. At the end of season two, Oleg cheated on Sophie, leading her to angrily break up with him off-screen before the third season premiere. In season four, the two reconcile and get engaged and then married; it is revealed he needs to get married because hisgreen card will expire. *Matthew Moy as Han Lee, the owner of the Williamsburg Diner. He is constantly a target for jokes (mainly from Max) involving his height, his effeminate mannerisms in spite of his claims of being heterosexual, and his lack of knowledge of American culture. *Jennifer Coolidge as Sophie Kaczynski (recurring, season 1; regular, season 2–present),[4] a Polish woman who owns a cleaning company and lives in the apartment above Max's. She was involved in a relationship with Oleg during seasons two and three, and gets engaged to him in season four, marrying him in the finale. Recurring *Chestnut is Caroline's horse who lives in the garden of Max's apartment. *Brooke Lyons as Peach Landis (season 1), a high society mother who acts like the most clueless version of that. She is the woman whose babies, Brad and Angelina (a reference to real-life actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie), Max babysits for. She fired Max from thatJOB to appease an awful friend of hers after a cupcake-catering mishap, and after she begged Max to return full-time, Max decided that she would only return in a part-time capacity. She hasn't been seen or heard from since, and the show has made it clear Max no longer works for, or has any contact, with her. *Nick Zano as Johnny (seasons 1–2), Max's on-again-off-again love interest. He told Max he broke up with Cashandra and was getting married to another women he just met a week ago in the season 1 finale. He was not seen again until the episode "And the Big Opening" of season 2, in which he and Max had sex. He and Max both agreed that they only wanted each other when they were taken by another person. He left at the end of that episode promising her he would see her again someday. *Ryan Hansen as Andy (season 2), a candy store owner whose business was across from the cupcake store, and Caroline's love interest in season 2. *Federico Dordei as Luis (season 3), a flamboyant man who becomes the new day waiter in the third season episode "And the Group Head". He is attracted to Oleg.[5] *Gilles Marini as Nicolas (season 3), a French "master baker" who owns and teaches at the Manhattan School of Pastry; he was Caroline's love interest, until she realized he is married in "And the French Kiss".[6] He and his wife have an "open relationship" and his wife even gives Caroline permission to sleep with Nicolas, but Caroline refuses because she does not want to sleep with a married man. He later moves back to France to be with his wife, and thus the Manhattan School of Pastry closes. *Mary Lynn Rajskub as Bebe (season 3), a neurotic pastry chef who works at the frontDESK of the Manhattan School of Pastry.[6] She laterMOVES TO CANADA, claiming that "they" have found her. *Eric André as Deacon "Deke" Bromberg (season 3), a sarcastic half-black/half-Jewish student at the Pastry School who quickly becomes Max's friend, lover and later ex-boyfriend. He is the second person Max says "I love you" to (the first being Caroline). It is later revealed that despite living in a renovated dumpster, he is rich, his parents owning a large elevator company.[7] In "And the Wedding Cake Cake Cake", Max reveals that she and Deke are no longer together. *Patrick Cox as John (seasons 3–4), a large homosexual bald man who shared a table in the pastry school classroom with Max, who nicknames him "Big Mary".[7] They now work together at The High. *Sandra Bernhard as Joedth (pronounced "Jo") (season 4), the lesbian owner of The High, a boutique restaurant where Max and Caroline start working. *Austin Falk as Nashit "Nash" (season 4), a handsome new waiter at The High, later hired by Han to be a dishwasher at the diner. Special guest stars *Martha Stewart as herself[8] *Steven Weber as Martin Channing, Caroline's father, who is currently in prison for a ponzi scheme he masterminded. *Cedric the Entertainer as Darius, Earl's estranged son. *2 Chainz as himself *Missi Pyle as Charity Channing, Caroline's rich and abusive aunt. She refused to give Max and Caroline aLOAN for their failing business, and later admitted that Caroline's claims to their parents that Charity was abusive to her (which they didn't believe) were accurate. *Debra Wilson as Delores, an exhausted employee at the temp agency where Max and Caroline worked. Her catchphrase, "Let me give you a 'for instance'", was used throughout the episode to illustrate violations to company policies. *Andy Dick as J. Petto, a puppeteer, who slips on a cupcake at Max and Caroline's cupcake shop and damages his puppet. *Piers Morgan as himself *Kyle Gass as an SFX operator *Lindsay Lohan as Claire Guinness, a soon-to-be-bride who asks Max and Caroline to make her wedding cake but drives them crazy with her inability to make decisions. *Hal Linden as Lester, the real tenant of Max and Caroline's apartment. He originally plans to evict them, then says he will let them stay if Max sleeps with him, and finally is conned into letting them re-up their lease for several years. *Kim Kardashian West as herself[9] *Jesse Metcalfe as Sebastian, Max's brief fling. He works as a DJ at a grocery chain and Max cannot get over how embarrassing hisJOB is. *Valerie Harper as Nola Anderz, a regular customer at the diner who is actually a successful photographer. *Caroline Rhea as Bonnie, a randyFLIGHT attendant at the airport where the second branch of The High is located. Production Development and casting Even before it went to series, the then-undeveloped pilot was the subject of a bidding war, with CBS landing theDEAL on December 10, 2010,[10] and ordering it to series on May 13, 2011.[11] It is one of two shows commissioned for the 2011–12 TV season in which Whitney Cummings is serving as producer and co-creator, the other being Whitney, which was picked up by NBC.[12] Dennings was the first to be cast in role of Max on February 18, 2011.[13] A week later on February 25, 2011, Behrs won an audition to land the role of Caroline, beating out other established actresses.[14] Moy, Morris and Kite were the last three to be cast on March 16, 2011.[15] Filming The series is taped in front of a live studio audience with some sweetening.[16] The first episode aired at 9:30 pm (E/P) after Two and a Half Men on September 19, 2011, and the show moved to its regular timeslot following How I Met Your Mother on Monday nights at 8:30 pm (E/P).[17] Production for the second season began on August 6, 2012. For its second season 2 Broke Girls moved to 9 pm ET/PT after Two and a Half Men was moved to Thursdays, and remained there until early in its third season. On March 27, 2013, CBS renewed 2 Broke Girls for a third season.[18] The show was first moved back to its original timeslot, which opened when We Are Men was cancelled, and stayed there until March 24, 2014. Beginning on April 7, 2014, 2 Broke Girls moved to 8 pm to replace How I Met Your Mother following its conclusion, with the show's former timeslot given to the short-lived Friends with Better Lives. On March 13, 2014, CBS renewed 2 Broke Girls for a fourth season. The network announced a premiere date of October 27, 2014.[19] The move was prompted by CBS' arrangement to air Thursday Night Football for the first several weeks of the season and their subsequent decision not to postpone the season premiere of The Big Bang Theory, which occupied 2 Broke Girls' timeslot until October 20, and then returned to its normal Thursday timeslot. The fourth season consisted of 22 episodes. Episodes Broadcast 2 Broke Girls has been broadcast in English in numerous countries around the world. In Canada the series airs on City TV.[20] In the UK it is broadcast on E4,[21]and in Ireland it airs on RTÉ2.[22] In Asia and Oceania the series airs on ETC in the Philippines,[23] the Nine Network in Australia,[24] and TVNZ in New Zealand.[25] Reception Dennings and Behrs at 38th People's Choice Awards. January 2012. 2 Broke Girls has received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the first season holds a rating of 68%, based on 34 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs have undeniable chemistry, and although 2 Broke Girls is at times is bogged down by predictable jokes, this old-fashioned odd couple sitcom is rich with laughs."[26] On Metacritic, the first season has a score of 66 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[27] Much criticism for the show was focused on the perceived overuse of sexually based jokes and offensive racial stereotypes. Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter said the show had potential but "squandered it away every week on cheap, predictable and unfunny jokes" and noted that many jokes were of a racist or sexual nature.[28] New Zealand critic Chris Philpott was especially offended by the rape jokes in the first three episodes of the series, calling the series the worst new show of 2012, stating that it "displayed a lack of understanding and creativity on the part of the comedy writer."[29] Andrew Ti, writing for Grantland.com, singled out the portrayal of Han Lee as "a fairly regressive portrayal" of the stereotypical Asian male: "a tiny, greedy, sexless man-child with infantilized speech patterns."[30] Elliot B. Gertel at Jewish World Review[31]similarly found that the show misrepresented "Orthodox" Jews in an episode. When asked about the racial stereotypes at a January 2012 press conference, Michael Patrick King said "I don't find it offensive, any of this".[32][33] Emily Nussbaum of The New Yorker wrote that while the way the supporting characters are written is "so racist it is less offensive than baffling", she noted that the show has "so much potential", and compared it favorably to Cummings' other show Whitney.[34] Positive reviews such as one from Entertainment Weekly''focused on the "potential" that the series has based on the acting and chemistry between Dennings and Behrs.[35] The series also received a B+ from ''The Boston Globe TV critic Matthew Gilbert, who was impressed with the casting and production: "The actresses – especially the Gwen Stefani-esque Dennings – transcend their types, and the pop-savvy humor has spirit thanks to producer Michael Patrick King from Sex and the City. After the forced opening minutes, it's the best multi-cam-com of the season."[36] The A.V. Club editor Todd VanDerWerff in writing his weekly reviews of the show, he hoped that the series would improve, but ultimately wrote: "Most of the problems—weird story construction, stereotypical characters, bad jokes—that have bedeviled the show have been there from the very beginning, though I will certainly say they've gotten worse as the season has gone along and the show hasn't bothered to diversify its rhythms at all."[37] On January 11, 2012, 2 Broke Girls won the award for Favorite New TV Comedy at the 38th People's Choice Awards.[38] In 2015, Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said what started out as "a modern Laverne & Shirley" attracted lots of young people to begin with, until they "realized it was a waste of their time."[39] Ratings The series premiere was watched by 19.2 million viewers after its lead-in, the first episode of Two and a Half Men without Charlie Sheen. This marked the highest rating for a fall premiere of a comedy series since Fall 2001.[40] It scored a 7.1 rating in Adults 18–49.[41] With DVR viewers included, the premiere rose to over 21.5 million viewers and an 8.1 in adults 18–49.[42] The show has done well in ratings with college students and young males.[42] Awards Syndication On June 20, 2012, it was announced that TBS hadSECURED the cable syndication rights to the sitcom, which began airing on September 20, 2015. The series has also been cleared on CBS and Weigel owned affiliates in 35% of the United States.[58] Home media Category:2010s American comedy television series Category:2011 American television series debuts Category:American television sitcoms Category:Brooklyn in fiction Category:CBS network shows Category:English-language television programming Category:Television series by Warner Bros. Television Category:Television shows set in New York City Category:Fictional duos Category:Television series created by Whitney Cummings Category:Television series created by Michael Patrick King